


the future’s looking bleak

by always_an_anxious_mess



Category: Minecraft - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superpowers, Dave | Technoblade and Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Brothers, Future-Seeing, I always put Tommy through it huh, I’m removing dreams tag because he says like, Superpowers, Takes place during the war of manburg, Techno has a mega ultra healing factor my dudes, Touch starved TommyInnit, dream is a speedster, i probably wont put them in the character tags, in the entire story, no beta we die like wilbur, phil sucks out negative emotions like a vacuum, so if a character says like one line, strictly platonic, tommy is a surprise but if you read the tags its not much of one tbh, tubbos like poison ivy, two sentences, wilbur’s like a siren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27638783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/always_an_anxious_mess/pseuds/always_an_anxious_mess
Summary: Everyone has a power, no one has ever been born without one.Most of the time, your family knows what your power is.Tommy is the exception.
Relationships: shippers dni - Relationship
Comments: 226
Kudos: 1838
Collections: Completed stories I've read, Found family to make me feel something





	1. Chapter 1

Everyone has a power.

From talking to animals and elemental manipulation, to a type of mind control similar to a siren’s song and superspeed. Everyone in the world has a power.

Most people on the Dream SMP know everyone’s power.

Dream has superspeed. Tubbo controls nature and plants. Sapnap has fire. George has heightened senses. Wilbur can mind control. Fundy can talk to animals. Eret has telekinesis. Niki can summon certain items to her no matter how far away they are. Techno has a wicked healing factor that can be used on others as well. Quackity controls water.

Only two people on the entire server have unknown abilities.

Tommy and Schlatt.

Schlatt would tell someone about his power, and they would forget it the minute that they walked away. Important information that would be gone in a blink of an eye. Everyone knew deep down what his power was, but when they tried to speak of it, the words would die on their tongues.

He was terrifying like that.

When asked, Tommy has always said that he doesn’t have a power, or joked and made up a random, ridiculous power that made no sense.

But he knew that everyone else knew he was lying.

Someone who didn’t have a power wouldn’t violently avoid touch at all costs. Someone who didn’t have a power wouldn’t wear long sleeves and pants and gloves at all times no matter how hot it was.

Even Phil, his father, had no real idea what Tommy’s real power was.

A few common examples of Tommy’s made up powers were...

“I can shoot lightning out of my eyeballs. Want to see?”

“I’m secretly an immortal shapeshifter named Glaarg.”

“My power is that if I tell you my power, you immediately forget it. Like Schlatt’s, except less cool.”

“My power’s my incredibly good looks, Big Man.”

They were all lies, and everyone knew it. But whenever he joked about it, it would make them forget that he hadn’t truly told them what his real power was. So he kept doing it.

Everyone noticed and would be concerned when Tommy got random nosebleeds, or complained about a headache, or his blue eyes seemed brighter than usual. But when asked about it, Tommy brushed it off.

“Happens all the time, I’m used to it. Why are you concerned anyway?”

Tommy knew what his power was. He wasn’t stupid. He wore gloves and long sleeves for a reason. He avoided touching people for a reason. He distanced himself from others despite his longing to be held for a reason.

Tommy desperately wanted someone to touch him without him having to worry about his power acting up. He wanted to have his hair ruffled and to have hugs and have someone be there to comfort him when he had a particularly bad power-related nightmare.

But he couldn’t. He wasn’t strong enough.

He distanced himself from his power. Never using it at all, only flashes of his power happening every now and then when his suppression of it failed.

His suppression failing had been happening a lot lately.

The duel with Dream. His power saved his life. That arrow was meant to hit him in the heart, not the ribs.

The election. He saved Wilbur by pulling him away from the arrow that was meant for his head.

Wilbur snapping and threatening to blow of the festival. Dream stepping in. He’d seen it before, in his nightmares.

That wasn’t supposed to happen.

Techno almost killing Tubbo, then using his healing factor to save the boy’s life. Another nightmare come true.

Wilbur controlling him, forcing him into fighting with Techno in the pit. Another nightmare come true.

When Wilbur was going to press the button, and Tommy and Quackity stopped him. Tommy knew a split-second before Wilbur moved where he was going.

And now.

———

Tommy recalled his nightmare of the previous night.

The screaming of withers. Fireworks exploding. TNT hissing and the ground beneath him swallowing him whole. Dream betraying Schlatt. Schlatt drinking and dying alone on the floor of the drug caravan. A vault full of supplies. Blood staining the ground from a sword wielded by Phil.

So far, five of those seven things have happened.

Tommy, exhausted and bloody, tried to catch his breath on the crumbling walkway that was a part of the ruins of L’manburg.

And he saw Phil in the distance.

Unbloodied sword in his hand.

Wilbur by his side.

Both with glowing yellow eyes.

Mind control.

“NO!” Tommy screamed, lurching forward, and the world went blue.

Phil turned and stabbed Wilbur through the stomach, ripping the sword out a second later. His yellow eyes faded back to normal and he screamed in anguish, grabbing at Wilbur with horror on his face.

The world went fuzzy, and then cleared a moment later.

Phil and Wilbur hey were standing next to each other again. Sword without blood, both with yellow eyes. The world still blue. This time, Tommy saw a transparent version of himself sprint across Manburg towards them. The transparent version of him missed a jump and fell, a sickening crack coming from the crater.

The world went fuzzy again.

The transparent version of himself was sprinting across Manburg again, this time going around the jump and climbing the ruins of the hill towards Phil and Wilbur. It got there too late, the sword being ripped out of Wilbur’s gut just a second before the transparent Tommy got to it’s feet on the same level.

The world went fuzzy again.

The transparent version of himself did not scramble onto the ledge with Wilbur and Phil. It instead grabbed Wilbur’s leg and yanked him down, out of the way of the sword as Wilbur’s head slammed against the stone floor. Phil’s yellow eyes faded, and Wilbur sat up, but was immediately gagged by the transparent version of Tommy with one of its gloves.

Tommy knew what he needed to do.

The world went fuzzy once more, and the blue mostly faded. Less than a second had passed, with everything that he had just seen seeming to have occurred only in his own brain.

Without wasting any time, Tommy sprinted across Manburg, instinctively avoiding the jump that caused him to fall to his death in the other future. That future was fading away, but the future that was Wilbur dying was still ever bright in the web that was tangled together in Tommy’s head.

His power. His curse.

Tommy threw himself onto the ruins of the hill, climbing quickly. All the possible futures were overlaid on the present, and Tommy could see which handholds would slow him down, which ones would cause him to fall, and which ones would get him to the top as fast as possible.

As soon as he was within reach, as Phil raised the sword, Tommy grabbed Wilbur’s leg and pulled.

His foot grip on the hill slipped, but his goal was accomplished. Wilbur hit the ground with a thud, groaning as his head slammed into the concrete ground.

Phil’s yellow eyes faded back to their normal blue, and he gasped.

Tommy was falling.

Then hands latched onto the back of his chestplate, hauling him up.

Wilbur sat up groggily, a trickle of blood running down from his hairline from where he’d hit the ground. His eyes started glowing yellow, and he opened his mouth-

But Tommy had already yanked off one of his gloves, stuffing it into Wilbur’s mouth forcibly. Wilbur choked, eyes flaring with anger as the yellow faded back to brown. Phil grabbed Wilbur’s arms so he couldn’t take out the glove, and Tommy sighed with relief.

His head throbbed as the last of the blue faded. The futures that had been so clearly laid over the present had faded back into the web in Tommy’s mind, no longer as visible.

Blood trickled down from Tommy’s nose, and he ignored it, breathing heavily through his mouth instead. He desperately tried to regain his breath, but it was hard to breathe. His head was pulsing, sending spikes of white-hot pain through his skull and it hurt so bad. So bad.

“Wilbur,” Phil said, his voice shaky. “Why would you do that? Why would you try to make me kill you?”

Wilbur just glared at him fiercely, unable to talk from the glove in his mouth.

Something was pulling on the threads of the web. Trying to catch his attention.

Tommy couldn’t pull it to the forefront of his mind. It hurt too much. He couldn’t handle it. His head hurt so bad. He couldn’t breathe.

Suddenly, the world turned blue once more. Another fierce spike of pain was thrust through his skull as the web was forced to the forefront of his head.

Techno spawning withers. He was giving a monologue, and he laughed when the withers finished charging and took to the sky, obliterating what was left of Manburg.

Tommy had to stop him.

He stood up, hefting his sword. The blue faded slightly, but the futures were once again clearly overlaid with the present.

“Tommy,” a hand gripped his arm, on the sleeve and not on his bare skin, thankfully. “Tommy, your eyes. You’re bleeding. Stay here,” Phil sounded worried.

Tommy turned, meeting Phil’s gaze. He gave him a weak smile.

“I can’t,” he admitted. “I see everything now.”

“What does that mean, Tommy?” Phil asked, his grip on Tommy’s arm tightening.

“I see everything,” Tommy repeated.

He knew what he had to do to make Phil let go, and he did, twisting his arm until Phil’s grip loosened. Tommy jumped from the ledge, causing several people to cry out in shock as they watched him fall.

Tommy landed in a roll, springing up and sprinting directly for Techno. His older brother shifted into a defensive stance as soon as he realized that he was the target, and Tommy knew exactly how he was going to move.

Techno wasn’t a predictable fighter by any means, but when one can see all of the futures, one notices that he fought a particular way depending on his opponents.

Meaning, Tommy doesn’t have to prepare for multiple attacks. He knew exactly how to move to avoid getting hit.

Every swing of Techno’s sword was either blocked with Tommy’s own or it was dodged without difficulty. It was like a dance. A deadly dance. Tommy was moving with calculated ease, something he’d never truly had before.

It made Techno frustrated, Tommy could tell by the way his movements became less strategic and more angry. Techno was the best fighter in the world, and he was being shown up by his little brother. If Tommy wasn’t relying on his future-sight so much, he would have lost a long time ago.

Tommy finally went onto the offensive, his sword flying from one side to the next as Techno blocked and dodged and grunted when it connected with him. Techno was immediately defensive, unable to get a single hit in from how Tommy was fighting him.

Until he did.

Techno swung his sword, aiming for the gap in Tommy’s netherite armor. Tommy spun away from it, shifting his balance and slamming his heel into one of Techno’s knees hard enough for the joint to snap.

Techno made a noise halfway between a grunt and a shout, dropping onto his good knee as he cradled his now broken other one.

Tommy spun on his heel, his other foot coming around and slamming into Techno’s jaw. The bone mask that covered most of Techno’s face shattered, and the pink-haired man was forced to the ground from the momentum of the kick.

Before Techno could get up, Tommy pressed one of his boots into his older brother’s chest and pointed the tip of his sword just beneath Techno’s chin.

Techno stared up at him with wide, dark brown eyes, breathing heavily with nothing but shock and pain coating his features.

“Do not make me hurt you, Techno,” Tommy warned, the adrenaline from the fight wearing off as pain shoved up into his skull again. “I don’t want to have to carry your ass home while you get blood all over my armor.”

“What... are you?” Techno asked, glancing down at the sword that was poised at his throat before meeting Tommy’s eyes again.

Tommy didn’t answer, only now noticing the bright blue, glowing lines that etched themselves into his uncovered hand. They tingled, and Tommy felt that same tingle tracing up both arms, over his back and neck and ending at either corner of his eyes.

“Don’t make me hurt you, Techno,” Tommy said in a softer tone. “I can’t let you spawn those withers.”

“How did you know I was going to do that, Tommy?” Techno asked, but it sounded like more of a demand.

“Surrender!” Tubbo called from not far away, having reclaimed his netherite armor. “All of you, surrender! You’ve lost!”

“Techno’s lost,” Dream corrected him. “We haven’t.”

“Techno is a better fighter than you, or have you forgotten?” Tommy spat. “I’ll kick your ass too, if need be.”

“ENOUGH!”

All of the negative emotions were sucked out of the air like a vacuum, Phil was using his power.

Phil had climbed down with Wilbur forced in front of him, hands tied together and still gagged. Everyone parted the way for him

“Tommy, let Techno up,” Phil instructed. Tommy, still halfway in the future, considered the outcomes of this action.

Techno attacking him? Likely.

Techno attacking Phil? Next to nothing.

Techno attacking Tubbo or the others? Not likely.

Techno running? Next to nothing.

Techno doing what Phil asks of him? Most likely.

Tommy withdrew his sword and took his boot off of Techno’s chest. He didn’t sheath his sword, in case Techno did try to attack again, but as his older brother got up, the chances of him attacking anyone had become very low.

The blood that had been trickling from Tommy’s nose earlier had turned into a waterfall, blood steadily streaming out from his nose and dripping down his chin, splattering onto the grass. Tommy tried to regain his breath through his mouth, but it had become hard to breathe once more. He had to keep licking away the blood that dripped into his mouth, it was disgusting.

Tommy felt dizzy. His brain sent spikes of pain through the back of his skull repeatedly.

“You broke my knee,” Techno spat at him, gingerly testing his weight on his quickly healing knee.

“You’ll heal...” Tommy grunted, stumbling slightly. The blue was fading, as was the tingling sensation and the glowing lines in his hands. The web of futures faded away, pushing to the back of his mind once more.

“Tommy,” Tubbo was in front of him now. When did he get there? “Tommy, your nose is bleeding.”

“Don’t touch,” Tommy said weakly, flinching away from Tubbo’s hands.

“I have gloves, see?” Tubbo held up his gloved hands, and Tommy relaxed as Tubbo held onto either side of his face. “Let’s stop your nose bleeding, yeah?”

“Its not gonna stop,” Tommy said slowly. “Not right now...”

He was so lightheaded. His head hurt so badly. Tubbo had gloves on, he’d take care of him.

“Tommy?” Tubbo asked uncertainly, right as Tommy pitched forward. He was still awake somewhat.

Startled shouts surrounded him, but all he could feel was someone supporting his weight, hands wrapped around his torso as he was essentially pulled into a hug. Tommy kept his head far away from Tubbo’s, paranoid that it’d accidentally touch and he’d be pulled into Tubbo’s futures.

“Imma sleep now,” Tommy mumbled, closing his eyes as his hands loosely clutched at the back of Tubbo’s shirt.

More panicked shouting, but Tommy was already being dragged down to unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Tommy woke up to pain in his head and voices he couldn’t quite recognize floating around him.

“My guess is reflexes or something.”

“Reflexes? Why?”

“He seemed to know how Techno would move before even he did. So maybe he can just sense how someone’s going to move?”

“That doesn’t explain how he knew I was going to summon those withers.”

“Why were you going to summon the withers? Why’d you try to kill Tubbo?”

“I told you guys. I’m not for government. They used my stuff to overthrow a dictator and then install themselves in power, essentially making themselves dictators in the process. I don’t do that.”

“It doesn’t matter now. Manburg’s gone. We’ll just go back to how things were before.”

“Back to being pawns of Dream, sounds wonderful.”

“You lost the right to choose what happens the minute you pressed that button.” That was Tubbo, Tubbo’s voice. He was chewing someone out. Good for him.

Tommy groaned as the pain in his head intensified, his eyes screwing tightly shut as his hands reached up to clamp down on his skull. Fuck. That hurt. A lot. Not as bad as yesterday, but it still hurt.

The voices around him fell silent.

“Tommy? How are you doing?” That was Phil, and a wave of calm swept over him despite the pain in his skull.

He felt someone brush his hair out of his face, and he tensed, preparing to be sucked into their futures.

But nothing happened.

“I’m wearing gloves, it’s okay,” Phil reassured him. “How are you?”

“Feel like someone slammed my head into a wall,” Tommy croaked, not wanting to open his eyes. “Repeatedly.”

“Well, as far as my abilities go, there’s nothing I can do about that,” there was Techno’s drawl. “I’ve looked, but you don’t have a physical injury that I can use my power on.”

“Yeah, I know,” Tommy groaned. “This happens sometimes. It’s not a physical thing, so you can’t do anything about it. I have to wait it out.”

“So what exactly is your power, Tommy?” Was that... Wilbur?

Tommy’s eyes shot open and he bolted into a sitting position, immediately regretting the action as a spike of pain was thrust through his head. He cursed slightly under his breath from the pain and glanced up to Wilbur.

Wilbur was sitting in a chair not far away, no longer gagged but with his hands tied together and Techno holding the end of the rope.

Tommy was in Pogtopia, at least, it looked like Pogtopia. If he had to guess. He wasn’t in a room that he’d seen before, but it was cold and damp like Pogtopia was.

“I’m surprised you’re still allowed to talk after you tried to control Dad to kill you,” Tommy spat.

“Power suppressors,” Wilbur shrugged, gesturing at the two small black disks placed on either side of his temple. “You didn’t answer the question.”

“It’s... difficult to explain,” Tommy really didn’t want to answer this. “I don’t get it myself, honestly. Yesterday was the first time that particular thing happened, so I’m not sure where to start here.”

“Wherever you’re the most comfortable,” Phil offered. Tubbo nodded enthusiastically. Wilbur and Techno just shrugged.

“I uh...” Tommy froze, staring down at his hands as the pulsing in his head slowing became less sharp. “I see the future? Kind of?”

Everyone’s faces turned to confusion, even Techno, who was normally expressionless.

“It’s more complicated then that,” he shifted uncomfortably. “It’s like, a web. In the back of my head, starting from the present and branching out into every possible future. Every decision, the changes in the smallest of details can send you on another path. It was driving me mental, so I pushed it away. I’ve been pushing it away for years. Ever since I was a kid. I think it must’ve... snapped... or something. What happened yesterday’s never happened before.”

“What happened yesterday?” Tubbo asked. “If you’re alright with telling us.”

“I’m still not entirely sure,” Tommy admitted. “I’ve always had nightmares about the future, you see. And I had one the night before the war. I saw Phil holding a bloody sword, among other things. So when I saw Wilbur and Phil standing next to each other, Phil with a sword and both their eyes yellow... I panicked?

“Everything turned blue, and it was like the future and the present were taking place at the same time. I could see all that could happen. Wilbur dying was a particularly likely future. I followed the thread that would allow me to save him, and I did exactly as that version of me did in order to save his life. Same thing when I was fighting Techno. I acted as I needed to in order to win by using the threads.”

Everyone seemed just as lost as before, and to be fair, Tommy was pretty lost too. He didn’t understand what had happened much more than they did.

“You guys look just as lost as I feel,” Tommy joked. “I don’t know much more than you do about this.”

“What do you know then? Start with that,” Techno offered.

“Well, I can’t touch people,” Tommy explained. “Skin-to-skin contact, even for the briefest of moments, sends me into that person’s futures. That’s why I wear the gloves and the long sleeves.”

“The nosebleeds?” Tubbo asked.

“Consequence of using my power too much,” Tommy shrugged. “It’s never bled that bad before, but I guess that’s because of the new thing.”

“So, future sight,” Techno deadpanned. “Not a single person in the bet guessed that.”

“You guys were betting on my power?” Tommy asked, confused.

“Almost everyone in the SMP has a bet on it,” Tubbo gave him a slightly embarrassed smile.

“Including me,” Phil held up a finger. “Follow my finger with your eyes.”

“I don’t have a concussion.”

“Just do it.” Tommy did so, and Phil nodded, satisfied. “Just making sure.”

“What was your bet?” Tommy asked Phil asked.

“I thought it was some kind of withering effect,” Phil shrugged. “To explain why you hated being touched.”

“I thought you were just embarrassed about your power so you hid it,” Techno said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t really have a guess, my bet was just the reasoning behind why you hid it.”

“I thought it was something elemental,” Tubbo offered. “Like lightning, and you shocked people when they touched you or something.”

“I thought it was like mine,” Wilbur said in a bored tone of voice.

“I know Quackity thought it was some kind of mental manipulation,” Tubbo offered. “Schlatt thought so too. His exact quote was “that kid’s power is definitely similar to mine”.”

“What a revolting thought,” Tommy shivered. “No.”

“How’s your head? Any better?” Phil asked, grabbing Tommy’s attention.

“Ah, a little,” he shrugged. The throbbing in his head was fading away, slowly. “Feels like what I imagine a hangover feels like, but it’s getting better.”

“Up to walking around?” Tubbo suggested. “Everyone’s been concerned, but they wanted to give you some space.”

“They’re mostly curious on how you were able to beat the mighty Technoblade,” Wilbur drawled, a grin on his face. “And how effortless you made it seem.”

“I will admit, I am impressed that you managed to knock me flat on my ass like that,” Techno shrugged. “We’ll have to do that again sometime, but preferably without the premise of bodily harm.”

“You’re going soft,” Phil teased.

“Am not,” Techno snapped, but there was no heat behind his words.

“Stop arguing, you’re going to make my headache worse,” Tommy joked, swinging his legs off the bed. He paused for a moment, allowing the lightheaded ness to fade back a bit, before he stood up.

Dizziness swept over him in a wave, and Tommy nearly fell over, if not for Tubbo grabbing onto him and keeping him steady.

“Sorry, dizzy,” Tommy mumbled, stiffening as he was suddenly very aware that he wasn’t wearing his gloves and Tubbo was wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

“It’s okay,” Tubbo reassured him as Phil passed him his gloves. “You good?”

“Yeah, just moved too fast,” Tommy said, pulling the gloves on and letting out a breath he hadn’t know he’d been holding. “I’m okay now.” The dizziness had faded considerably, and though it was still present in the back of his mind, it wasn’t likely to cause him to fall over.

Tommy allowed himself to be led out of the room, Tubbo just a step behind him in case he fell over. Wilbur still had his hands tied, and was being pulled along by Techno, though Wilbur wasn’t fighting him.

They were in Pogtopia, it seemed, as they entered into the bottom floor of one of the ravines. A heated argument was occurring between Dream and George, but those two were almost always fighting, so that wasn’t new. Niki, Quackity, Eret and Fundy were whispering about something in the corner.

Everyone fell silent when they entered.

Niki, Eret, Fundy, Quackity, Bad, Ant, Dream, George, Punz, Sapnap, and Karl were all present.

The silence was suffocating for the few moments who lost it, but Wilbur was the one who broke it.

“No one won the bet,” Wilbur announced. “Everybody was wrong.”

“Damn!” Dream cursed. “I really thought you were a speedster.”

“Was anyone close?” Eret asked. “For curiosities sake.”

“George was the closest,” Tubbo offered. “But still way off mark, so he technically loses.”

George whooped, even despite being told he still lost. Sapnap elbowed him in the side, and George turned, most likely about to pick a fight.

“So what is your power, then?” Niki asked before the two could start arguing.

“I uh...” Tommy shifted uncomfortably. “In the simplest terms? I can see the future.”

Everyone stared at him blankly.

“I’m not sure how much clearer I can explain it?” Tommy said uncertainly. “Not just THE future, I guess, but ALL the possible futures. Every minor detail and decision can send you on a different path, so I don’t know what will happen exactly, just what’s most likely to happen and a few other alternatives.”

That wasn’t quite true. He knew all the possible outcomes. They rattled around in his mind incessantly. Even the ones with such a small probability of occurring he knew about. The first bit was true though. He had no idea what exactly would happen.

“So... what’s the most plausible future?” Quackity asked.

“Uh...” Tommy grimaced as he flicked through the threads. His nose felt runny again, and when he swallowed he tasted blood in the back of his throat. That probably wasn’t good. “Telling you... isn’t the best idea. I know it makes me sound like a bit of an ass. Its just you guys knowing about could just... make it not come true.”

The throbbing in his head was slowly starting to get worse with how much looking at the web he was doing. He’d forgotten how much it hurt to do this.

And how mesmerizing it was. He kept flicking through them. Niki as president? She was a good choice, and she loved it. Tubbo was too, but he ended up despising the job. Could they really go back home? Him, Phil, Tubbo, Wilbur and Techno, going home? That was nice. They’d get into a lot of fights, but they’d be happy there.

“Tommy!”

Gloved hands gripped either side of his face, and Tommy blinked, confused. Blood was dripping from his nose again, and his head pulsed incessantly with pain. The world was slightly blue, but it faded soon after he realized it.

Tubbo was standing in front of him, holding onto Tommy with concern on his face. “You zoned out, and your nose is bleeding again,” Tubbo explained gently.

“Sorry,” Tommy apologized. “I haven’t... I haven’t looked at the threads in a really long time. I got carried away.”

“Let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?” Tubbo offered, and Tommy didn’t protest as he was led away. Mostly because his mind was focused on the pair of hands touching him. Tubbo was touching him. His power wasn’t activating. Someone was touching him and he didn’t have to worry about being pulled away into the future. The hands shifted from his face to grasp his wrist and pulled him along.

He didn’t notice when he was pulled into his room instead of the room he’d been in before.

He did notice, though, when Tubbo sat him down on his bed and then let go of him.

Immediately, the warmth that had been bubbling in his chest when Tubbo touched him vanished. And Tommy longed for it to be back. He didn’t care that his head hurt and his nose was bleeding, he just wanted someone to touch him. Even if just to hold his hand.

The lightheadness was back, Tommy didn’t care.

Tubbo crouched in front of him with a dripping wet cloth. He reached up and held the side of Tommy’s head to keep him still as he dabbed the cloth on Tommy’s upper lip and nose. The cloth was coming away red, but Tommy didn’t care.

His mind zeroed in on Tubbo’s hand on his face, and he felt himself leaning into the touch, fighting to keep his hands down instead of holding Tubbo’s hand against his face.

If Tubbo noticed, he didn’t say anything. He just kept working on cleaning away the blood coming from Tommy’s nose.

“You should get some rest,” Tubbo said after a few minutes of this, the rag he was using almost completely stained red. He stood up, his hand not leaving Tommy’s face. Maybe he had noticed. “You look tired.”

Tommy hummed in acknowledgement, his eyes half-closed. They snapped open, however, when Tubbo’s hand left his face.

Embarrassingly, Tommy reached out and grabbed Tubbo’s wrist before he got out of reach. Tubbo glanced at him, confused.

“Don’t go?” Tommy asked softly.

Tubbo’s gaze softened, and he nodded, smiling. Tommy laid down, and Tubbo gently played with his hair, humming Blocks quietly. The warmth was back now, and it didn’t leave.

Tommy didn’t realize how cold he was until he finally allowed someone to touch him. He didn’t want Tubbo to leave.

Sleep didn’t come, even as Tommy kept his eyes closed. He supposed that was because he’d only been up for less than an hour. Eventually, he heard Tubbo sigh, and then the bed shifted slightly as Tubbo climbed in next to him.

The bed wasn’t very big, so they were kind of squished together. Tubbo was curled up next to Tommy, one arm thrown over Tommy’s chest and the other still playing with Tommy’s hair. The humming hadn’t stopped, but it did shift from Blocks to Mellohi.

Tommy was so warm.

He didn’t know why he felt like crying just because Tubbo was touching him, but he did. He didn’t let the tears fall though, not wanting to worry him. Tommy didn’t know why he cared so much about the simple act of someone playing with his hair, but he did.

The humming eventually faded, and while Tubbo’s gloved hand was still tangled in Tommy’s hair, it no longer moved. Tommy glanced over, at him, and saw the gentle rise and fall of Tubbo’s chest that signified he was asleep.

Tommy smiled, glancing up at the ceiling and being slightly surprised to find vines with flowers having forced themselves through a dirt patch. They were pretty, and Tommy couldn’t stop staring at them.

Tubbo probably did that on accident, but it was still nice to look at. Gave him something to keep his mind off of the futures crowding in the back of his brain.

And if Phil came in later, meeting Tommy’s eyes as Tubbo still slept, neither of them would speak of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God having a mental breakdown at school really motivates you into writing shit, huh? Don’t worry, I’m feeling better now. I’m so glad that I’m out for a week though.


	3. Chapter 3

Wilbur was supposed to have a trial.

But no one knew enough about the law in order to conduct a proper one except Tubbo. And Tubbo said himself that he was too biased to make a decision like that.

So, they came up with another idea.

Phil, Niki, Dream, George, Techno, Eret, Karl, Bad, Sam, and Fundy were chosen to create a council, and the ten of them were to vote and decide Wilbur’s fate. Whatever decision that was made had to have a majority of eight, that no certain side could influence the vote.

They had been in there for hours, with Tommy, Tubbo, and Sapnap chosen to babysit Wilbur the entire time.

Eventually, they emerged and announced that Wilbur was to be monitored by Phil for a minimum of a year, away from SMP lands, with limited usage of his power.

Tubbo also stepped down from presidency, not that there was really a Manburg to govern anymore. He offered Niki the job, who was

flattered, and immediately installed a council that could vote out the president so that way no president could be a dictator again.

Techno seemed begrudgingly okay with this idea, but just restated his opposition against governments and his refusal to be under one.

That’s when Tommy found out Techno would be going home with Wilbur and Phil.

That’s when Tommy decided he’d go with them. Away from Manburg. Away from Pogtopia.

That’s when Tubbo decided he’d go with them too.

———

Some time had passed since they arrived home, far enough away from Manburg and the SMP that they weren’t considered a part of either country, but close enough to visit as often as they wanted. The days went by so quickly that Tommy had no idea how long it had been.

The dynamic between all of them had changed since they found out about Tommy’s power. Since they had found out the real reason Tommy never liked people touching him. (Lie. He wants to be touched. Please.)

Tommy found himself more often than not the one who initiated contact, mostly with Tubbo and Phil. Sometimes it was just a high five, sometimes as long as no one else was around he’d give a quick hug.

He wanted more. It was selfish, yeah. But he just wanted to be touched, dammit. Was that so bad?

Someone was always there when Tommy woke up screaming from visions, but no one touched him unless he asked them too. And it was embarrassing to ask them to, so he never did.

He just wanted to be held. For someone to mess with his hair. To not have to worry about being pulled away to someone’s future. To hold someone’s hand. For someone to hug him without him worrying about their heads touching on accident.

“Hey Tommy?” Tubbo asked him one day. “Have you ever thought about using power suppressors?”

Tommy glanced at him curiously. “No? I don’t think so. What for?”

“Well, they might help you with your nightmares,” Tubbo suggested. “Or just make the web less prominent so you don’t get a nosebleed every time you accidentally look at it.”

Tommy thought about it for a while after that. Power suppressors could do those things. But they could also allow him to touch people. Normally. With no gloves, with no hesitation or caution.

So he thrust himself into the world of how to make power suppressors.

Their only pair was being used on Wilbur all of the time while he got therapy. Wilbur had, begrudgingly, agreed to keep them on until his therapist thought they could trust him not to mind control them to kill him again.

Power suppressors weren’t rare, just expensive and hard to build. It would take more time to build his own then to just buy some, yes, but he could customize it to his own power, make it as effective as possible.

Tommy knew the others were worried about him as he read every book he could on how power suppressors worked and how to make them. He threw himself into this with a determination he didn’t know he had.

He chugged coffee like it was water, spent hours holed up in his room working on them, only leaving for bathroom breaks, when he had to get more coffee, and when he was dragged out by one of his family members by his ear. Sleep was a rare occurrence, and only for about an hour or two at a time. The less he slept, the harder it was to ignore the futures, but that only fueled his determination to finish the power suppressors faster.

Tommy was on another sleepless night, tinkering with the power suppressors by the light of a lantern. They were almost done. Soon all he would need was the enchantment that would make them work, and he was going to go grab books on how to perform it tomorrow.

“Tommy, what the fuck are you doing up at this hour?” Techno rumbled from behind him, and Tommy scoffed.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Tommy turned, stretching his back that was sore from slouching so long. “I’m busy, what do you want?”

“It’s two am,” Techno deadpanned from where he was standing in the doorway. “Go to sleep.”

“I can’t,” Tommy shrugged. “Just drank coffee.” He went and picked up the mug to show him, but it was empty and cold. When was the last time he filled it up? Maybe about 4 in the afternoon? “Ah, guess not. I should grab more.”

“No, you should go to bed,” Techno said sternly. “When was the last time you slept? And for how long?”

“Uh...” Tommy shrugged. “Two days ago? Maybe? And for... I don’t know, an hour or two.”

“You’re going to run yourself into the ground if you keep doing this,” Techno warned, and Tommy waved him off dismissively.

“I won’t. I checked the threads, I’ll be fine.” That wasn’t quite true. In almost every future in which he didn’t slow down soon he would pass out and worry everyone. But that didn’t happen in every future, so he’d be fine. He was betting on one of those coming true instead.

Techno stared at him for a moment longer, before leaving.

Something was pulling at the threads in his mind, but Tommy ignored it, opting to turn around and continue fiddling with the suppressors. The adhesive wasn’t strong enough yet, so he grabbed some more slime and started to smear it on the backside of the devices.

“Tommy.”

That wasn’t Techno.

Tommy turned around, finding Wilbur standing in the doorway with Techno just a step behind him. Wilbur’s hands looked shaky, and he was sweating, and he looked exhausted.

Techno must’ve woken him up.

Why?

The tugging on the threads grew stronger, but he pushed it away.

“Tommy,” Wilbur repeated, and his eyes turned yellow.

Fuck.

“Tommy, go to sleep. You’re really tired and you should go to bed,” Wilbur said softly, almost musically. The words invaded Tommy’s mind and muted out everything else. His whole body went numb, and his thoughts kept repeating themselves. The same phrase, over and over and over again.

_I’m really tired and should go to bed. I’m really tired and should go to bed. I’m really tired and should go to bed._

The world turned yellow, and his body moved on its own accord. It walked over to Tommy’s bed and climbed into it, immediately relaxing against the sheets.

_I’m really tired and should go to bed._

He was out less than a minute after sitting down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have college application essay to write and I still havent done it so here’s my procrastination brain rot


	4. Chapter 4

Tommy’s eyes snapped open, inhaling sharply and sitting up. He glanced outside. It was about midday, maybe later. He slept for over ten hours and he still felt exhausted, but damn if that was going to stop him.

“WILBUR SOOT!” Tommy shouted, throwing himself out of bed with a thump. He was effectively tangled in the sheets, and after a few curses, he managed to free himself. He scrambled to his feet and bolted out of his room, knowing exactly where his older brother was.

He thumped down the stairs, definitely not almost falling down them, and burst into the kitchen where Wilbur was sitting with a cup of tea. Phil, Tubbo, and Techno also sat there with their own cups of tea, and Tommy spotted a still steaming cup in front of an empty chair.

They were fucking EXPECTING him.

“You motherfucker,” Tommy hissed quietly, breathing heavily as he tried to regain his breath through gritted teeth. “I was BUSY!”

“You were dragging yourself off a cliff, is what you were,” Techno deadpanned.

“Two hours of sleep?!” Tubbo said, angry. “In two days?! You THINK?! I know I suggested the idea of you using power suppressors, but you don’t have to work yourself to death in order to make them!”

“I was handling it!” Tommy said defensively. “All that’s left is the enchantments. I could’ve had them done by the end of today if you had just let me work!”

“Boys,” Phil said softly, but in a stern tone. Immediately, the atmosphere shifted into something much calmer. Tommy would have been annoyed if he could. “Tommy, you should’ve asked for help. I made the other pair we have, I know how to make them, and how to do the enchantments. If you had asked, you could’ve had them done days ago.”

Tommy immediately felt embarrassed, but he rushed to cover it with irritation. “I- Well- I mean-” he swallowed, glancing away with a furious look on his face. “Th- They’re almost done. Just let me FINISH them.”

“I can finish them for you,” Phil suggested, but it wasn’t a suggestion. “What you need right now is a proper meal, because I know you haven’t been eating lately.”

“And a shower,” Wilbur offered, looking him up and down.

“Are you all going to just ignore the fact that Wilbur used his power on me?!” Tommy demanded indignantly. “Again?! And Techno’s the one who stood there and WATCHED him do it!”

“I woke him up specifically so he could do it,” Techno said nonchalantly. “He was concerned, and so was I. We came to the agreement that it needed to be done for the sake of your health.”

“But the both of you are okay with it?” He turned to Tubbo and Phil.

“I don’t agree that he should have done it without your consent,” Tubbo said gently, and Phil nodded in agreement. “But they both were concerned about your health, and I understand their reasoning behind it.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Phil agreed.

“Not a single one of you is on my side about this? Are you fucking serious?!” Tommy shouted.

“I’m sorry, you didn’t give me another choice,” Wilbur sounded genuine, which only made Tommy angrier. “I didn’t want-”

“You may not have wanted to use your power then, but you certainly fucking did when you made me fight Techno!” Tommy bristled. This was a mistake. Yelling was a mistake. He could see that. He could see he was going to regret it. But he couldn’t stop himself. “You made me jump into that pit and get my ass kicked! You didn’t let me stop! Techno had to practically break my ribs just to get me to stop coming at him, and you still tried to make me keep fighting! If Niki hadn’t been there to stop you, who knows what would’ve happened!”

Wilbur flinched.

“BOYS!”

The negative emotion was sucked out of him, and Tommy slumped against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting against it.

“Tommy, I understand you’re upset, and you certainly have reason to be,” Phil said calmly. “Take a few minutes to calm down. Have a shower, maybe.”

Tommy nodded, exhaling shakily as he absentmindedly started flicking through the threads. Yeah, a shower would calm things down. Let everyone calm down a bit. He shouldn’t have yelled, he shouldn’t have done that. He couldn’t let things get worse.

———

Tommy found himself laying in bed after his shower. He’d gotten dressed while he was still wet, so his hair was soaking his pillow, and it would be annoying later, but he didn’t care. His mind was half in the future and half in the present.

Three gentle knocks on the door. It was Tubbo.

“Come in,” he mumbled without opening his eyes. The door clicked open and then shut, and Tubbo sat down at the edge of his bed. Before Tubbo could even open his mouth, Tommy responded to the question he was going to ask, his mind still half in the future. “I’m fine, my head hurts but I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine,” Tubbo hummed. Something tickled Tommy’s head, and a quick glance into the future allowed him to see the flowers Tubbo was laying around his head. “What happened?”

“I just...” Tommy trailed off, blinking open his eyes and locking eyes with Tubbo. “How are you all so calm about this? He promised me, years ago, that he’d never use his power on me. He’s done it twice in the past two months.”

“I don’t think what he did last night was right,” Tubbo seemed to be choosing his words carefully as another flower grew out of one of his palms. He plucked it and tucked it behind Tommy’s ear with a gloved hand. “But you do realize what you were doing wasn’t healthy, right? I don’t think he wanted to do it, you know. I think he just thought he didn’t have a choice.”

“I don’t want him to do it,” Tommy looked up at the ceiling. “In some futures he only does it if... if somethings wrong. Like... if my life was in danger he does it. But there are timelines where that doesn’t happen. Where he uses it on me all the time to do whatever he wants and I’m scared of that happening.”

“You see all the futures, right?” Tubbo asked. “Can’t you control what happens next?”

“I don’t want to control what happens next,” he groans, putting his head in his hands. “I don’t want any of this. I don’t want to be constantly worrying about where the future’s going, about what path we’re on. I just want to LIVE, Tubbo. Ignorance is bliss, or whatever the fuck the saying is. I guess I want to just be ignorant.”

Tubbo was silent, and Tommy could practically feel him staring at him.

“I’m scared, Tubbo,” Tommy said quietly. “I don’t want him to turn out like I can see him becoming. I just want to be a family again. I want everything to just go back to normal.”

“Then I guess you have to just trust him, trust him that he won’t be that person you see,” Tubbo said softly.

“It’s not that easy.”

“You’re right, it probably isn’t. But maybe you should just try?”

Tommy went silent. He wanted to try, he really did. But he wasn’t sure if he could.

There was another knock on the door. That was Phil, Tommy could see. Phil had-

Phil had-

Tommy bolted upright, opening his eyes. Tubbo let out a small yelp in shock at how fast he moved. Tommy stared towards the door with wide eyes.

“Come in,” he breathed, barely audible.

Phil opened the door and walked inside, closing it behind him. In his hand were the two tiny disks Tommy had been working on for the past week, maybe longer. The disks shimmered, rippling with the effects of the enchantments.

“I told you I know how the enchantments for them,” Phil said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Tommy just stared at him, in awe and with a childish hope flooding his brain. He couldn’t even look at the future to see if they worked, all he could do was stare at Phil.

“Go on, try them,” Phil stepped closer, and held out his hand.

With shaking hands, Tommy took the two tiny things. He couldn’t get his hands to stay still long enough to put them on properly, so Tubbo had to guide his hand.

The first one stuck without much issue, and Tommy didn’t feel any different. But after he put the second one on he-

He-

wait

Tommy blinked, and then blinked again. The web was just... gone. Faded to the very back of his mind. He could still see it, still glance at it, but if he wasn’t looking for the futures, he couldn’t see them.

“Well, do they work?” Tubbo asked.

Tommy pulled of one of his gloves and stared at his hand for a moment before asking: “Can I?”

He glanced between Tubbo and Phil.

“Of course you can big man,” Tubbo rolled his eyes.

“You don’t have to ask,” Phil reassured him.

Phil was wearing gloves, but Tubbo was only wearing one, so Tommy hesitantly, with a rapidly beating heart and a trembling hand, gently brushed the tips of his fingers over the back of Tubbo’s hand. He was tense, ready to get pulled away.

But nothing happened.

His breath hitched slightly as he hesitantly reached forward again and this time put his hand on top of Tubbo’s, not taking it away.

There was something echoing in the back of his head, but it was easy to block out.

Tommy was there, though. He wasn’t being pulled away by Tubbo’s futures, he was there, in the moment.

Nothing was happening.

“It works,” he says softly, barely audible. “It works,” he said again, this time louder.

Both Tubbo and Phil smiled, and Tommy was not crying. He definitely was not crying.

But then Phil reached out and wiped a tear off of his face with an ungloved hand and Tommy burst into tears. He was crying. That was okay because Phil was touching him without a glove and it was warm.

Tubbo hugged him, his face burrowing into the crook of Tommy’s neck and Tommy could feel that Tubbo was crying too. Phil joined in on the hug, reaching up and combing his fingers through Tommy’s hair.

Tommy didn’t know what to do with himself because people were touching him and it felt nice and he was warm and he had no idea how it was possible to miss something you’d never really had before but he had missed this.

Tommy absolutely stayed like that for a long time, just being hugged by Tubbo and Phil, crying because goddammit, he didn’t want them to let go.

Phil was warm. Tubbo was warm.

———

Tommy went up to Wilbur later, with no gloves on and a tired smile on his face.

And he hugged him.

Wilbur started crying, mumbling a thousand apologies too fast to be comprehensible.

Tommy just shushed him, reassured him with a quiet voice, apologized for yelling earlier, and held him tight, his own tears soaking into Wilbur’s sweater.

Wilbur was warm too.

———

Tommy knew Techno wasn’t one for physical contact. But he knocked on Techno’s bedroom door anyways.

Techno opened it, and saw the two small disks on Tommy’s temples and the gloves missing from Tommy’s hands.

Tommy apologized for his reaction from earlier, and Techno accepted it without a hint of hesitation.

Tommy didn’t know where to go from after that, but Techno had cautiously opened his arms, and Tommy found himself in them just a moment later.

Techno didn’t cry. Tommy had never seen Techno cry once in their entire lives.

That’s why when Techno did cry around Tommy for the first time, silently, as they had hugged, Tommy decided he’d never mention it to anyone else. Can’t ruin the blood god’s reputation, after all.

Techno was warm too.

———

Tommy and Phil eventually turned the suppressors into a necklace that sat flush against the skin around the base of his neck. The necklace worked just as well.

Tommy could sleep without screaming himself awake from visions of the future, though he would occasionally get headaches from them. He only saw the future if he was looking for it, so that way they never clogged his mind.

He could touch people, without hesitation.

Tommy found himself drawn to just giving quick hugs for no reason when he was in particularly good mood.

He liked playing with Tubbo’s hair, and whenever Tubbo was messing around in the gardens, Tommy would weave flowers into his hair. Tubbo never seemed to mind, though he would sometimes complain about having to wash the pollen out. 

When Wilbur would be having a particularly bad day, mental health related or otherwise, Tommy would grab his hand and squeeze it. Sometimes that would lead to a hug/cuddle if Wilbur needed it, but sometimes Wilbur would just shake his head. Tommy understood, and would let go.

Techno, though he would never admit it, enjoyed it when Tommy messed with his hair. Sometimes he’d employ Tubbo into weaving flowers into Techno’s braid, joking the whole time about making him suffer. Techno never once told him that he liked it. He would pat Tommy on the shoulder or ruffle his hair, but he wasn’t one for physical affection, and he appreciated that Tommy understood that.

Sometimes, if Tommy was having a bad day, he’d find himself being herded into a cuddle pile on the floor in front of the fireplace. He would always protest to this, but everyone knew that he liked it. Mostly from the way he’d immediately melt against them the minute they sat down.

They were happy. At home. The trust wasn’t quite 100% there yet, but they’d get there. Their family was back together ~~for now~~ , and that’s all that mattered to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter for this book! I really liked writing this one, but wanted to keep this one short so that way I can explore other ideas without having to worry about the last time I updated this one. I’m glad y’all liked it, and thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> <3
> 
> -R

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: @Rose12610  
> Tumblr: @alwaysananxiousmess
> 
> Leave comments! :D
> 
> I’ve had this idea for so long but it took me fucking forever to decide what power Tommy would have. At first he was a speedster, then he could control time, but I settled on this instead because I liked this idea the best. Hope you enjoyed!


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